Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

If your forte is a service, like consulting or web site design, it’s harder to find guidance on what will get you funded, and how you can scale your business. On the product side, once you have a proven product and business model, all you need is money to build inventory, and a sales and marketing operation to drive the business.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 19, 2020

No product, even with a large opportunity, is ready to scale until you can show it working, with multiple customers paying the full price, to validate the business model. Outsource what is non-strategic to optimize leverage. Attract and relish investor funding. Use a minimum viable product (MVP) to validate the model.

Startup 154

Startup Outsource Ideas Research 154

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

If your forte is a service, like consulting or web site design, it’s harder to find guidance on what will get you funded, and how you can scale your business. On the product side, once you have a proven product and business model, all you need is money to build inventory, and a sales and marketing operation to drive the business.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

No product, even with a large opportunity, is ready to scale until you can show it working, with multiple customers paying the full price, to validate the business model. Outsource what is non-strategic to optimize leverage. Attract and relish investor funding. Use a minimum viable product (MVP) to validate the model.

Funding 67

Funding Startup Outsource Ideas 67

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2015

As a startup investor, I often see business proposals looking for funding that really look like expensive hobbies looking for donations. I still see entrepreneurs who spend money and time for months on a new business idea without any separation of personal and business funds, and any formal accounting system for their new business.

Outsource Development 99

Outsource Development Startup Competition Ideas 99

InfoChachkie

MAY 16, 2011

1) Expect Independent Channel Sales Reps To Perform Missionary Sales. Rationale: I cannot afford to hire a direct sales force. Fallacy: Third-party, OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing) representatives succeed once the sales process is defined, proven and documented. Public relations at a startup is a sales process.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

Outsourcing your core competency does not work. The sales professional. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. The combination of technical insight, founder authority, and sales experience is a hard-to-beat advantage in a competitive market. The operations superstar.

Technical Advisors 105

Technical Advisors Outsource Development Startup High Tech 105

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Outsourcing your core competency does not work. The sales professional. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. The combination of technical insight, founder authority, and sales experience is a hard-to-beat advantage in a competitive market. The operations superstar.

Technical Advisors 57

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 57

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2012

You can’t succeed in business without an operational model that delivers value to customers at a reasonable price, with an underlying cost that allows you to make a profit. A target market is the group of customers that the startup plans to attract through marketing and sales their product or service. Sales/Marketing.

Sales 97

Sales Customer Custom Outsource 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

Outsourcing your core competency does not work. The sales professional. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. The combination of technical insight, founder authority, and sales experience is a hard-to-beat advantage in a competitive market. The operations superstar.

Technical Advisors 98

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 98

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 1, 2013

Especially keep an eye on the balance between expenses and sales. Before going through the expensive process of sourcing, recruiting, and hiring an employee, look into outsourcing, especially for non-core functions such as HR, accounting, and legal. Pricing is an art, a challenging art. Undercharging for your product/service.

Startup 93

Startup Pricing Outsource Competition 93

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2016

As a startup investor, I often see business proposals looking for funding that really look like expensive hobbies looking for donations. I still see entrepreneurs who spend money and time for months on a new business idea without any separation of personal and business funds, and any formal accounting system for their new business.

Ideas 62

Ideas Outsource Development Startup Competition 62

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2015

No product, even with a large opportunity, is ready to scale until you can show it working, with multiple customers paying the full price, to validate the business model. Outsource what is non-strategic to optimize leverage. Attract and relish investor funding. Use a minimum viable product (MVP) to validate the model.

Startup 103

Startup Outsource Invest Ideas 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2011

You can’t succeed in business without an operational model that delivers value to customers at a reasonable price, with an underlying cost that allows you to make a profit. A target market is the group of customers that the startup plans to attract through marketing and sales their product or service. Sales/Marketing.

Sales 98

Sales Customer Custom Outsource 98

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2013

No product, even with a large opportunity, is ready to scale until you can show it working, with multiple customers paying the full price, to validate the business model. Outsource what is non-strategic to optimize leverage. Attract and relish investor funding. Use a minimum viable product (MVP) to validate the model.

Tips 111

Tips Startup Outsource Ideas 111

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2011

Early in a services business there is usually no profits as the company reinvests in hiring people to grow, but by $20 million in sales the company should at least be pulling in 10% profits (if not more) depending on how much is reinvested. Who are your competitors – how much do they charge?&#. It’s pure irony.

Services 332

Services Venture Capital IP Startup 332

Tech Coast Venture Network

MAY 15, 2011

Guest luminaries from the start-up, entrepreneurial, funding, technology and political worlds will mingle with local entrepreneurs and business leaders to discuss the current state of small business innovation and advancement in the Orange Coast. The price increases to $65 after April 23rd and $125 at the door.

TCVN 113

TCVN Technology AeA Press 113

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2018

If your forte is a service, like consulting or web site design, it’s harder to find guidance on what will get you funded, and how you can scale your business. On the product side, once you have a proven product and business model, all you need is money to build inventory, and a sales and marketing operation to drive the business.

Services 72

Services Startup Training Writing 72

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2012

Enough detail is required so that someone else can build it without you (outsourcing). Equally important, marketing and sales people should be able to identify benefits and marketing strategies, set prices, and validate a business model. Business model, executive team, marketing & sales, financials, and funding.

Product 92

Product Outsource Development Competition High Tech 92

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2014

If your forte is a service, like consulting or web site design, it’s harder to find guidance on what will get you funded, and how you can scale your business. On the product side, once you have a proven product and business model, all you need is money to build inventory, and a sales and marketing operation to drive the business.

Services 105

Services Startup Training Writing 105

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2011

Enough detail is required so that someone else can build it without you (outsourcing). Equally important, marketing and sales people should be able to identify benefits and marketing strategies, set prices, and validate a business model. Business model, executive team, marketing & sales, financials, and funding.

Product 93

Product Entrepreneur Outsource Development Competition 93

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2016

If your forte is a service, like consulting or web site design, it’s harder to find guidance on what will get you funded, and how you can scale your business. On the product side, once you have a proven product and business model, all you need is money to build inventory, and a sales and marketing operation to drive the business.

Services 61

Services Startup Training Writing 61

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

I don’t believe you can hire great business people who outsource the development to a hot incubator who builds you code to match your ambitions. And if it’s not I’m generally not that interested in funding it. Sales is the lifeblood of every organization. It’s either part of the DNA or it’s not.

Startup 337

Startup Venture Capital Study Course 337

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2010

Enough detail is required so that someone else can build it without you (outsourcing). Equally important, marketing and sales people should be able to identify benefits and marketing strategies, set prices, and validate a business model. Business model, executive team, marketing & sales, financials, and funding.

Product 48

Product Outsource Development Competition High Tech 48

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2018

Whether you’re fund raising from angels, seed investors and VCs?—?as Nobody commits, nobody wants to set a price, nobody wants to stick their neck out then BOOM! It’s like the entire industry wants to outsource its brain to the smartest person they know and then follow that person. as an industry we succumb to “herd mentality.”

Press 232

Press Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 232

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 13, 2010

During the down market they were able to double down on recruiting, sales, outsourcing, new market entries and marketing (yes, with Tiger ads ). It’s clear that the exuberance has returned to hiring, paying large compensation, poaching staff with big payouts and large fund raising events at lofty prices.

Technical Review 302

Technical Review Marketing IP Outsource Development 302

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

Pricing models, the freemium myth and why you may not be charging enough for your product - Seth Levine's VC Adventure , August 12, 2010 I’ve been pulled into a number of product and pricing meetings recently (for reasons unknown I’ve become the Foundry pricing and productization guy). I've funded some myself.

Startup 191

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Hire 191

SoCal Delicious

MAY 6, 2012

Goodreads raised a Series A round of funding from True Ventures in the summer of 2009. Matt McKinney is the Founder of TiesForCharity.com, a trendy tie company that donates a percentage of each tie sale to unique charities. The site has since grown to nearly 7.5 Brian Norgard – Co-founder of Chill. Ryan Born – Founder of AudioMicro.

Los Angeles 78

Los Angeles Entrepreneur Angel Fractional CTO 78

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

November 23, 2010 Entrepreneurs, Using Outsourcing to Obtain Capital Efficiency Needs to be Thought Through to be Effective - Robert Ochtel , June 7, 2010 Teen Entrepreneur, Brian Wong, Youngest Founder to Receive Angel Funding - teenentrepreneurblog.com , October 28, 2010 Build Your Own Silicon Valley?

Startup 378

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Coach 378